Among Her Own Kind
by drox
Summary: Something's bothering Rose. Besides her world going boom, for which there are BIG SPOILERS. Rated for one naughty word.


Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. Just playing with 'em. Without permission. Not getting paid.

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Among Her Own Kind  
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"Something bothering you Rose?"

"You mean apart from the world blowing up?"

"Yeah."

She sat in silence for a while. "Yes. Yes there is."

Another moment of silence before he prompted her. "Well?"

"It's just that..." Now how to put it. "Well, we did good, right? The earth was destroyed but not on purpose. It was just time, right? And there weren't any people on it anymore."

"That's what they said," the Doctor replied glumly.

"You mean...? One tragedy at a time, okay Doctor? Anyway, we nabbed the dastardly villain. Ess. And we saved most of the innocent people. But not all."

The Doctor's face was unreadable. "We couldn't save them all. There was Jabe. And the steward."

"And the plumber."

"Who?"

"The plumber. I don't think you met her. But she and I had a talk while you were off chatting up that tree lady."

The Doctor glared at her but said nothing.

"Those spider things got her. But that's not all that's bothering me. See, she actually _asked for permission _to speak to me. There's a rule or something. And she said that most people didn't bother granting it" Rose collected her thoughts. "Five million years in the future-"

"Billion," the Doctor interrupted. "Five _billion _years. In _your _future. Give or take. Travel in time enough and it ceases to make a difference."

"Well it makes a difference to _me _. See, you may be a Lord of Time, and get invited to all sorts of fancy soirees with presidents and kings-"

"I didn't have an invite. I had to bluff my way in, remember?"

"Shut up!" Rose snapped, happy to be the one saying 'shut up' for a change. "You wanted to know what was bothering me so you can just shut up and listen. See, I'm not from a fancy family with lots of money and prestige. I'm just plain Rose Tyler. I don't get invited to party with the bigwigs and I just got a pretty good idea where I'd fit in if I'd been born in the year five _billion_." She noticed a smile on the Doctor's face now that she'd got it right. "I might not have blue skin and I don't know the first thing about plumbing, but I know one thing. I've got more in common with the commoners on that station than with the high muckity-mucks. In the year five billion I'd be forbidden even to speak to the people and aliens-"

"The aliens _are _people, Rose."

"_Stop interrupting me_! You're really infuriating sometimes, you know that?"

The Doctor waved his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Carry on."

"In the future I'd be a sodding _plumber_, and wouldn't be allowed to so much as speak to the _people_ who really run things. And that _bothers _me, y'know? Call me naive, but I did sort of hope that after five billion years the world would've got over the haves bullying the have-nots. Maybe scored a little enlightenment after all that time?"

"It did."

"No way. You saw what it was like. Fancy-pants rich folks running the show and silent subservient servants seeing to their every need. I don't care how many planets you've been to, that's not enlightened."

"The universe did get enlightened, Rose. Lots of times. On countless worlds, people have achieved peace, prosperity, equality, joy, love and happiness." He made a peace sign and grinned. "Enlightenment, if you will. Trouble is," - the grin vanished - "they never seem to _stay_ enlightened."

"So enlightenment is temporary, and something always happens to push them back toward exploitation and cruelty? That's depressing, Doctor."

"If you look at it that way. Or you could say that exploitation is temporary, and something always happens to push them back toward enlightenment again. I like my way better."

"Especially when you get to be the 'something'."

"Exactly! So, d'you want to go make some trouble? Do some pushing? There's a revolution under way in the Eugon empire in their year 474 that could use a little help. Or there's that little incident on-"

It was Rose's turn to interrupt. "I've just seen my planet destroyed, Doctor. You of all people know what that's like. I'm not ready to be a revolutionary just yet. Maybe later. There is somewhere I'd like you to take me first."

He bowed elaborately. "Anywhere, anywhen, milady."

"The year five billion, James," she replied, snapping her fingers. Find me a pub where the plumbers go after work. I want to get drunk with my own kind."

The Doctor smiled. "You'll need a designated driver then. To say nothing of a bodyguard. Those places can get kind of rough... er, I've heard..."

"You 'heard'?" She grinned back at him. "Relax, Doctor, they're my kind of people, remember?" She was thoughtful for a moment. "D'ya think they'll mind that I'm not blue?"


End file.
